According to data issued by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Chinese vehicles sales increased by 4.3% to 19.3m units in 2012. CAAM forecasts that total vehicle sales in the world's largest market will rise by around 7% this year to 20.65m units.

The super-luxury brands owned by Germany's Volkswagen and BMW groups both posted healthy sales growth in 2012. VW's Bentley announced global growth of 22% year on year to 8,510 cars, following the worldwide dealer count rising 10%, while BMW's Rolls-Royce said it booked a "record" 3,575 cars but did not provide a 2011 comparison.

A decrease in export market demand for Colombian products and commodities combined with domestic speculation about car tax reform and the free trade agreement (FTA) with the US – with its consequent fall in car prices - made 2012 one of the most difficult in recent memory for the local auto industry.

Car sales in Western Europe fell by 16.2% in the month of December to leave sales for the full-year down 8.2% (at 11.76m units) as economic problems across the continent continued to depress new car demand.

Official VFACTS data released on Friday (4 January) by Australia's Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) showed 1,112,032 new passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were delivered in 2012, setting a new record.

Despite consumer and business uncertainties about the fiscal cliff, US light vehicle sales remained robust in December, pushing total deliveries for the year to 14,492,398, close to the upper end of most analyst predictions.

A dismal December when new car sales plunged 23% from year-ago levels led to an annual decline of 13.2% in 2012 with little expectation of improvement in 2013, according to Spanish car makers’ association Anfac.